No. 20 Ashford Sneaks by No. 10 Robert Morris

Saints Notch First Win of Year with 2-1 Victory

September 01, 2014

By Ashford (Iowa) Sports Information

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Early in the 2014 season, luck has been hard to come by for the #20-ranked Ashford University women's soccer team. On Sunday (Aug. 31) afternoon, the Saints found a little late game magic to earn their first win of the 2014 campaign.

Junior Rochelle Douglas recorded her first career multi-goal game, included the game winner with just over five minutes to play as the Saints (1-3) downed #10th-ranked Robert Morris University (Ill.) at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

Junior Danielle Boyd finished with a pair of assists for the Saints, who were rewarded for playing a strong, technically sound game with a thrilling victory.

"We have been telling our team that if they stick to the game plan, the breaks are eventually going to go our way," Head Coach Mick Regan said. "We've been close in the first three games but a missed pass here or a strange bounce there would turn into a goal against. Today, we played one of our best games all year and we also got the big play when we needed it. This win should not only take the pressure off our kids, but give them a confidence boost heading forward."

The Saints would open up the scoring in the 25th minute after an Ali Tamburro shot was turned aside by Eagles' goalkeeper Adrienne Giglio, setting up an Ashford corner kick. Boyd launched the corner into the box where Tamburro got a head on it, sending it to an uncovered Douglas who headed the ball home for her first goal of the year.

With time ticking down in the first half, Robert Morris got the equalizer when Johanna Joenesson's shot hit the post and went right to Vivianna Garcia, who fired it into the open cage with five minutes to go before the horn.

But the Saints didn't get discouraged by the late first half goal and controlled possession from the outset in the second half, pinning the Eagles in their own zone for the first 15 minutes.

With time ticking down and the score still tied, Boyd sprung an Ashford two-on-one attack with a perfect pass from the Ashford zone. Douglas would corral the pass and streak past an RMU defender before launching a shot into the top right corner for the game winner in the 85th minute.Shots were 12-10 in favor of Ashford with Tamburro leading all attackers with four. Nyla Peterkin (1-3) made one save for the Saints to earn her first career win. At the other end, Giglio turned aside four Ashford shots in defeat.

Next up for the Saints is a trip to Chicago, Ill. on Friday, Sept. 5 for a showdown against Saint Xavier University. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m.

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WOMEN'S SOCCER

Spring Arbor (Mich.) won the 2015 Women's Soccer National Championship